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Politics

Indian tea workers curse Modi's party for broken wage pledge

Activist says best option is to oust Assam government in coming state poll

Assam's female tea pickers say a $0.7 daily wage increase is inadequate to get by, while tea garden owners say rising costs are making their businesses unsustainable. (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)

GUWAHATI, India -- On the eve of International Women's Day, nearly 2,000 women laborers from the tea gardens of Dhekiajuli, a town in Assam's Sonitpur district, took to the streets demanding a "reasonable" hike in their daily wages after the state government last month approved a 50-rupee ($0.7) increase.

Led by the All Adivasi Women's Association (AAWA), the protesters have since September been demanding the increase of their daily wage from 167 rupees to 351 rupees.

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